


After The Wedding

by gevaudan



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 14:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6118926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gevaudan/pseuds/gevaudan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Cooper/Williams wedding Owen and Jack have a discussion Jack's dance with Gwen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Jack/Ianto  
> Rating: T for Owen's potty mouth.  
> Summary: Owen and Jack have a conversation after Gwen's Wedding  
> Disclaimer: All character's belong to the BBC.

"You're being a twat."

It wasn't so much Owen's use of bad language that surprised Jack, that was par for the course, it was more that it was directed at him. Sure, he had kept them tidying up Gwen's wedding for the last several hours, and even now they were in the process of moving unconscious retconned guests back to their rooms, but that was work, surely Owen understood that?

"Excuse me?" he asked finally.

"You heard me." Owen answered, grabbing the ankles of the next body. They started off down the corridor and from behind one of the doors he could just make out Ianto's deep voice murmuring their cover story to another group. "What was all that about with Gwen tonight?"

"I don't know what you mean." Jack replied firmly, hoping to end the conversation before it truly began.

Owen dropped the ankles of the man they had swung between them.

"Dammit Jack, she's married now! And not three hours later there the two of you are prancing about the dance floor gazing at each other all lovey dovey!" Owen's exasperation was clear.

Jack did not want to continue this conversation, and remained pointedly silent. However it appeared that Owen wasn't going to give him any option.

"Right in front of all her family! There you were gazing at her like she was the only person in the room. You just didn't  _think_  did you Jack?"

"I was dancing with the  _bride_  Owen!" Jack shouted in exasperation, "That's what you  _do_  at weddings!"

"So if that's what you do at weddings then why the hell did Ianto looked like a kicked puppy?" Owen's voice was low, almost dangerous.

Jack's head jerked up in surprise at his words.

"What? Owen what do you mean?"

"Fucking hell Jack!" Owen's anger was tangible, "How can you not have noticed? Ianto Jones, remember him? Makes the coffees, apparently looks good in a suit? He bloody  _loves_  you Jack. And you treat him like you love him too for a bit – then you rub his nose in with Gwen  _bloody_  Cooper, at her wedding in front of a load of people of all bloody places! Are you a complete wanker by accident Jack or does it come naturally?"

Jack finally laid down the head of the man he was carrying and stared at Owen, his normally unreadable blue eyes filled with pain.

"Has he said something?" he asked cautiously.

"About what? Loving you or you being an arse?"

Jack chewed on his lip.

"Either? Both? I don't know Owen!"

Although he was genuinely angry at Jack, Owen had to bite down a chuckle at the Captain's obvious distress. Owen hadn't been sure whether he was doing the right thing by bringing up the events of earlier to his boss, but he liked to think that Jack did actually care about Ianto and hadn't deliberately meant to hurt him. But he guessed that when you were however many years old Jack was, the intricacies of relationships might well pass you by.

Didn't excuse him from being an ass though.

"Yes, Ianto loves you. Not that he walks round the hub shouting it, but I have discovered that the atmosphere of a wedding and three glasses of champagne is like a truth drug to tea-boy..." Owen shook his head, remembering Ianto's slightly hazy confession before they had started working again. "And yes. He did notice you dance with Gwen, and yes he did notice how you looked at her and finally yes he did look like a kicked puppy so I'm guessing that yes you upset him!"

"Shit," Jack whispered.

"Precisely."

Jack was filled with guilt and remorse. He had never in a thousand years, wanted to hurt Ianto. He felt more for the young Welshman, more than he'd felt for anyone in a long time. Yet he couldn't deny there was something between him and Gwen. Perhaps it was because she was so full of fire and passion, but unavailable enough to flirt with safely. Though now, he reflected, that was stupid. It might have been safe for him and Gwen, but it had obviously hurt Ianto, something Jack had  _never_  wanted to do. He could have kicked himself.

"What do I do?" He wasn't sure Owen was the person to ask for relationship advice, he didn't have the best track record. But even Jack had the sense to realise that now was not the time to ask Gwen.

"First," Owen instructed, enjoying his discomfort, "You go and beg his forgiveness, preferably in the Hub in front of all of us on your hands and knees... I could use the laugh. Secondly, have you ever thought about actually telling him the truth about how you feel? I mean, it's acceptable for me to tease him about being your part time shag Jack, if I started to be nice to him he'd probably die of shock.  _However_  it's not acceptable for  _you_  to make him  _feel_  like he's just a part time shag."

Jack nodded silently, and finally Owen smiled.

"He'll be fine Jack. Honestly. Just, try not to be so much of a jerk all the time."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Fine! But Owen?"

"Yes Jack?"

"If you ever call me so many names in so short a space of time again, you'll be out on your arse, get it?"

Owen laughed and picked up the man's ankles again.

"Sure thing Jack."


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later all the guests were finally settled in their own beds and the only people left awake were the Torchwood team. Tosh sat at a cleared table, her shoes kicked off, feet propped on another chair, sipping delicately from a large glass of Baileys. Owen sat opposite her, eyes closed against the first rays of dawn creeping over the horizon, wishing, not for the first time that he could enjoy a whiskey. A large one.

Ianto stood separately, leaning alone on the railings surrounding the terrace, a glass of whiskey held loosely in one hand as he stared, unseeing, at the encroaching sunrise. Owen opened his eyes to regard him steadily, before turning to Tosh.

"He okay?" he mouthed silently, tipping his head towards the young Welshman. Tosh was unfailing observant when it came to the wellbeing of Ianto Jones, had been ever since their fateful trip to Brynnblaidd.

Tosh waved her hand in the age old gesture for not bad, smiling fondly as she regarded Ianto.

"He'll be okay," she mouthed back carefully, "Long day."

Owen tipped his head in agreement and she raised her glass to him in acknowledgement.

" _You do something to me."_

The soft voice of Paul Weller drifted across the room, yanking them both out of the reverie. Jack stood by the music player, silencing their impending questions with a finger to their lips.

" _Something deep inside."_

Ianto was barely aware of the music starting; exhaustion had taken over long ago and now all he wanted to do was to collapse into bed, preferably with Jack although that was looking unlikely to be an option. It was clear that Jack still harboured feelings for Gwen, and Ianto couldn't deny that watching the two of them dance together earlier had hurt him, more than he cared to admit.

Not that he could let Jack see that of course, Jack wasn't the type of person you had a tell -all sort of relationship with.

Sighing he took another swig of his whiskey, as a heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"May I have this dance?" a smoothly accented voice asked him softly.

Ianto didn't answer immediately, just stared into his glass of whiskey a small frown creasing his face.

"Ianto?"

Finally he looked up, piercing Jack with his crystal blue gaze.

"I was under the impression," he began, his words careful and his accent thick with exhaustion and alcohol, "that I wasn't your first choice of partner today." The implication of his words was clear.

Tosh shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"We should go," she mouthed to Owen, who shook his head forcefully in response.

"Trust me," he whispered, "Ianto needs us here to see this."

After a long pause, Tosh nodded and settled carefully back into her seat, trying hard not to draw any attention to herself from the couple before them.

Jack flinched at the hidden sting in Ianto's words and guilt rose in his throat once more. He could read the pain written across the younger man's face and inwardly he cursed himself for being the one who put it there. Gently he reached out a hand to gently stroke his cheek, wincing as Ianto instinctively flinched away.

"Please Ianto," he begged softly.

"Jack," Ianto sighed, "I'm exhausted and I'm really not in the mood."

Jack firmly took Ianto's hand and led him back inside to the dance floor, resolutely ignoring the young man's protestations. Tenderly, he took the young man into his arms, one arm looped strongly round his waist, the other, clasping Ianto's hand, held to rest between their two hearts. Ianto exhaled softly and relaxed into the embrace, unable to resist the pleading in Jack's blue eyes.

"I owe you an apology." Jack spoke loudly enough for Owen and Tosh to hear everything he said, "I danced with Gwen tonight because I told myself that was what you do at weddings."

He softly tilted Ianto's chin with one hand so that their eyes met.

"When really I should have listened to what I wanted to do, but I was worried about how you would react."

"And that was?" Ianto asked with a quick quirk of his eyebrow.

"I wanted," Jack stressed the word, "to dance with you, all night if I could. But I was worried you would be embarrassed to do that in front of everyone. Then I realised, when you came over to cut in, that I should have just asked you – and let you say no if you wanted. And I was frustrated at myself for being an idiot and I took it out on you. I'm sorry Ianto, I wasn't fair to you today. Hell, I'm not fair to you a lot of the time."

Jack released his hold on Ianto, and dropped to his knees, hands clasped in front of him in penitence.

"I'm really sorry Ianto," he begged, resisting the urge to smile at the mortified expression on the Welshman's face, "I never,  _never_  wanted to hurt you, definitely not tonight, and certainly not any of the other times I've said or done something stupid."

Ianto, his face flushed a similar colour to a beetroot, reached out and pulled Jack to his feet, wrapping his arms around him, trying hard to ignore the grins plastered across his teammates' faces.

"There's nothing to forgive," he whispered softly into Jack's ear.

"You're a good man Jones Ianto Jones, and I don't deserve you" Jack told him seriously, "But I want you to know that I do care about you. I do... love... you Yan. And I don't want you to ever forget that."

Ianto's breath caught in his throat as he stared in wonder at Jack. Leaning forward he leant in to capture Jack's lips in a soft kiss.

"I love you too." He whispered, silencing any reply from Jack by deepening their kiss.

Tosh smiled softly at her two teammates, tears glistening in her eyes. She was glad that the two men had found happiness together, she could think of no two people who deserved it more.

Owen watched Toshiko as her eyes filled with tears. He was pleased that Jack had taken his advice, and that finally he and Ianto looked relaxed and comfortable with each other.

Slowly he got to his feet, holding out his hand to Tosh as he did so.

"Fancy another go at seeing that dead man dance, Tosh?" he asked with a grin.

With a soft laugh she stood up and stepped into his cool embrace, giggling as he spun her across the floor, their faces alight with happiness.

And just for once, for a few moments, as the music continued, everything was perfect.

_You do something to me_

_Somewhere deep inside_

_Hoping to get close to_

_A peace I cannot find._


End file.
